This thesis addresses the cause and the extent of sprawl in China, how to deal with sprawl using smart growth in official plans. Sprawl is “haphazard growth or outward extension of a city resulting from uncontrolled or poorly managed development” (Merriam-Webster dictionary). The importance of dealing with sprawl is realized when one considers negative impacts of sprawl, including traffic congestion, air and water pollution, loss of natural habitat and farmland, a fiscal and social crisis in the cities, and inability of public services to keep pace with suburban growth. Despite the great potential of using North America’s smart growth to deal with China’s sprawl, it is very important to bear in mind the different situation in North America and China, such as the difference in the development pattern, transportation modes, living philosophy, land policy, and fiscal stimulation. This research examines how much of the smart growth is being implemented in Xuzhou’s Official Plan and what obstacles prevent some principles of smart growth from being used. This research concludes that Chinese current policy and economic climate are favourable to the implementation of smart growth. Although some principles of smart growth have been embodied in official plans and planning policies, this research has illustrated that there are several challenges that planners and municipal leaders face in relation to the creation of a range of housing opportunities and choices, to the fostering distinctive and attractive communities with a strong sense of place, to the preservation of open space and farmland, to the establishment of cost-effective development decisions. Finally, the research identifies several recommendations to implement smart growth in China. The significance of this study for the planning profession is that by identifying opportunities and challenges to deal with sprawl using smart growth in China’ context, planners will be better able to formulate strategies, especially at the official plan level, that implement smart growth by targeting sprawl that currently impedes cities’ sustainable development. Through implementing smart growth, cities in China will be able to cope with growth while maintaining a high quality of life and fulfilling the goal of balanced environmental, social, economic, and land use priorities.

This thesis addresses the cause and the extent of sprawl in China, how to deal with sprawl using smart growth in official plans. Sprawl is “haphazard growth or outward extension of a city resulting from uncontrolled or poorly managed development” (Merriam-Webster dictionary). The importance of dealing with sprawl is realized when one considers negative impacts of sprawl, including traffic congestion, air and water pollution, loss of natural habitat and farmland, a fiscal and social crisis in the cities, and inability of public services to keep pace with suburban growth. Despite the great potential of using North America’s smart growth to deal with China’s sprawl, it is very important to bear in mind the different situation in North America and China, such as the difference in the development pattern, transportation modes, living philosophy, land policy, and fiscal stimulation. This research examines how much of the smart growth is being implemented in Xuzhou’s Official Plan and what obstacles prevent some principles of smart growth from being used. This research concludes that Chinese current policy and economic climate are favourable to the implementation of smart growth. Although some principles of smart growth have been embodied in official plans and planning policies, this research has illustrated that there are several challenges that planners and municipal leaders face in relation to the creation of a range of housing opportunities and choices, to the fostering distinctive and attractive communities with a strong sense of place, to the preservation of open space and farmland, to the establishment of cost-effective development decisions. Finally, the research identifies several recommendations to implement smart growth in China. The significance of this study for the planning profession is that by identifying opportunities and challenges to deal with sprawl using smart growth in China’ context, planners will be better able to formulate strategies, especially at the official plan level, that implement smart growth by targeting sprawl that currently impedes cities’ sustainable development. Through implementing smart growth, cities in China will be able to cope with growth while maintaining a high quality of life and fulfilling the goal of balanced environmental, social, economic, and land use priorities.

Regionalism and smart growth are two planning principles that in recent years have garnered more support from academia and environmental groups. In spite of this support, the mitigation of sprawl at the local level seems to be stymied. Central Florida's projected population increase and current patterns of sprawl provide an appropriate context to study the public policy/citizen participation disconnect. Understanding the disconnect between the state's enactment of policy regarding growth management and the ability of local planners to successfully curb sprawl will contribute to promoting comprehensive 'management of Florida's natural resources while accommodating the population growth that is expected to continue, in Central Florida. Research into why these ideas are getting lost in the translation from policy to practice is necessary to assist cities in better serving their citizenry. A survey was mailed to city planners in eighteen local governments within the four counties that make up the greater Orlando metropolitan area. These counties are Orange, Seminole, Lake, and Osceola. Local planners often act as the intermediary between policy formulation and public perception of those planning policies. Since planners must blend their implementation of state mandated policy with informing the public of the associated benefits, focusing the research on their opinions will provide a new perspective on the effectiveness of state-mandated growth management at the local level. The research intends to show that the only way comprehensive growth management will truly combat sprawl in the greater Orlando MSA is with support from both an informed and active citizenry, and state policy makers who are willing to not only allocate the funding necessary to promote all parts of the 1985 Growth Management Act and its subsequent amendments, but who also work in concert with local efforts in comprehensive planning.

This report reviews the cost of urban sprawl and shows the fiscal impact of smart growth. The report then focuses on the West Campus University Neighborhood Overlay (UNO) District in Austin, Texas, and it analyzes and estimates the fiscal impact on the City of Austin. Through fiscal impact analysis, it examines the contribution of the UNO District to the fiscal position of the City of Austin. As a result, this report gives the City of Austin fiscal reasons for redevelopment based on the smart growth scenario. This report begins with showing the cost of urban sprawl. Then, it reviews the history,principles, and policies of smart growth. The following section demonstrates the fiscal impact of smart growth. Lastly, the case of the West Campus area is examined by fiscal impact analysis. The result after the analysis shows the fiscal impacts on the City of Austin from both sides of budget, including expenditures and revenues. The revenues received from the residents of the area increased due to the sudden jump in property value, growth population, housing constructions, and mixed-use development. However, the costs also increased due to the needs for public services. / text

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Syftet med denna uppsats är att studera begreppen urban sprawl och Smart Growth utifrån ett hållbarhetsperspektiv, samt att undersöka vad dessa begrepp innebär för utvecklingen av den amerikanska stadsplaneringen också för de amerikanska städernas utformning. Urban sprawl innebär en utglesning av städer, något som i stor utsträckning har skett i USA sedan bilismens ökade framfart under 1950-talet. Smart Growth är ett ideal som förespråkar motsatsen till sprawl, det vill säga tätare städer där bilens roll blir mindre och mer utrymme ges åt gångare och cyklister. För idealet finns tio stycken principer som ska göra Smart Growth till verklighet. Utifrån dessa principer har jag - med hjälp av en kvalitativ textanalys - undersökt översiktsplaner från fem stycken amerikanska städer. Målet med analysen var att se i vilken utsträckning Smart Growth redovisades inom den amerikanska stadsplaneringen. Resultatet visade att principerna för Smart Growth presenterades i bred utsträckning i fyra av dem fem undersökta planerna. Detta för att det finns goda skäl att tro att den amerikanska stadsplaneringen kommer att sträva mot en tätare stadsbild. Trots detta är det inte säkert att urban sprawl kommer att försvinna. Slutsatsen är således att både urban sprawl och Smart Growth förmodligen kommer att karaktärisera den amerikanska stadsplaneringen under de kommande decennierna.

The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is Canada's largest metropolitan area and principal destination for international migration and investment. Over the next 25 years, the GTA is anticipated to grow by approximately 2. 5 million people to a population of almost 8 million. While many view this growth as a symbol of economic prosperity, others see it as a threat to Toronto's economic, environmental and social well-being due to the dispersed, automobile-oriented way in which the city has accommodated its growth since the 1950s. <br /><br /> Over the last two decades, planners have focused much energy on ameliorating the shortcomings of post World War II urbanization by developing policy measures such as Smart Growth, Growth Management, and New Urbanism that aim to alter the way in which cities are built and thereby effect change in the lifestyles that have precipitated from this landscape. In Ontario, the Provincial Government recently launched a Growth Management campaign for the Toronto area called <em>Places to Grow</em>. Although many have attempted to define this relationship between environment and behaviour, little attention has been given to attitudes, preferences, and behavioural tendencies of those who will be most directly affected by such policies: the general public. <br /><br /> This study surveys residents from six GTA neighbourhoods in order to understand their attitudes and preferences toward urban living and accommodating urban growth and thereby shed light on where support may be found for implementing <em>Places to Grow</em>. Academic literature suggests that residents generally oppose changes to the physical landscape that do not conform to prevailing cultural values and attitudes. The results of this work indicate that people generally support development that is in keeping with the landscape to which they are habituated. Given that most Torontonians live a suburban lifestyle and that most of Toronto's growth occurs in the suburbs, municipalities may be challenged to implement <em>Places to Grow</em> which stands to impact the suburban landscape more than other areas of the region. If <em>Places to Grow</em> is to be successful, planners must have a better understanding of residents' preferences and motivations in order to attract and maintain their interest in community development throughout the entire planning process.

As Canada’s capital, the City of Ottawa has benefited from several comprehensive land use planning exercises since the early 1900s. Early plans carried out by the federal government were led by Prime Ministers who, in wanting to beautify the region, initiated long range plans that spanned both sides of the Ottawa River, providing land use goals and guidance for what are today the cities of Ottawa and Gatineau. The planning context changed through the 1970s, however. The federal government played a lesser role in land use planning as regional and area municipal governments grew and an expanding technically trained staff developed local plans. It was in the absence of a strong regional plan aimed at controlling outward expansion that there was rapid growth of low density suburban communities outside of the National Capital Commission greenbelt. Today, planning policy in Ottawa recognizes the environmental, social, and economic benefits of compact development and encourages by, in part, directing growth to the existing built-up area. Unfortunately, residential intensification efforts in the City have been disappointing. While the City has developed a variety of policies and programs to encourage and support residential intensification, it appears site level constraints have prohibited it to occur in a significant way. This research is concerned with identifying weaknesses in the City of Ottawa’s current growth management strategy. The purpose of this research is to provide recommendations that can be used to strengthen Ottawa’s growth management policies and programs to more effectively achieve the compact urban form desired by the municipality. The findings demonstrate that there is some level of disconnect between what recent literature and key informant interviews identify as the barriers to residential intensification at the site level and the motherhood principles for compact development at the municipal level. More specifically, barriers can be summarized as community and political resistance, regulatory challenges, and policy vs. market realities. It is recommended that the City of Ottawa adopt a strengthened strategy that establishes achievable growth and intensification targets; encourages community support for compact development; considers growth over the longer term and with a regional perspective; and is advocated by strong leaders. Only in this way can the City create an improved strategy that will, like earlier plans, make Ottawa once again a proud leader in urban planning efforts in Canada.

The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is Canada's largest metropolitan area and principal destination for international migration and investment. Over the next 25 years, the GTA is anticipated to grow by approximately 2. 5 million people to a population of almost 8 million. While many view this growth as a symbol of economic prosperity, others see it as a threat to Toronto's economic, environmental and social well-being due to the dispersed, automobile-oriented way in which the city has accommodated its growth since the 1950s. <br /><br /> Over the last two decades, planners have focused much energy on ameliorating the shortcomings of post World War II urbanization by developing policy measures such as Smart Growth, Growth Management, and New Urbanism that aim to alter the way in which cities are built and thereby effect change in the lifestyles that have precipitated from this landscape. In Ontario, the Provincial Government recently launched a Growth Management campaign for the Toronto area called <em>Places to Grow</em>. Although many have attempted to define this relationship between environment and behaviour, little attention has been given to attitudes, preferences, and behavioural tendencies of those who will be most directly affected by such policies: the general public. <br /><br /> This study surveys residents from six GTA neighbourhoods in order to understand their attitudes and preferences toward urban living and accommodating urban growth and thereby shed light on where support may be found for implementing <em>Places to Grow</em>. Academic literature suggests that residents generally oppose changes to the physical landscape that do not conform to prevailing cultural values and attitudes. The results of this work indicate that people generally support development that is in keeping with the landscape to which they are habituated. Given that most Torontonians live a suburban lifestyle and that most of Toronto's growth occurs in the suburbs, municipalities may be challenged to implement <em>Places to Grow</em> which stands to impact the suburban landscape more than other areas of the region. If <em>Places to Grow</em> is to be successful, planners must have a better understanding of residents' preferences and motivations in order to attract and maintain their interest in community development throughout the entire planning process.

As Canada’s capital, the City of Ottawa has benefited from several comprehensive land use planning exercises since the early 1900s. Early plans carried out by the federal government were led by Prime Ministers who, in wanting to beautify the region, initiated long range plans that spanned both sides of the Ottawa River, providing land use goals and guidance for what are today the cities of Ottawa and Gatineau. The planning context changed through the 1970s, however. The federal government played a lesser role in land use planning as regional and area municipal governments grew and an expanding technically trained staff developed local plans. It was in the absence of a strong regional plan aimed at controlling outward expansion that there was rapid growth of low density suburban communities outside of the National Capital Commission greenbelt. Today, planning policy in Ottawa recognizes the environmental, social, and economic benefits of compact development and encourages by, in part, directing growth to the existing built-up area. Unfortunately, residential intensification efforts in the City have been disappointing. While the City has developed a variety of policies and programs to encourage and support residential intensification, it appears site level constraints have prohibited it to occur in a significant way. This research is concerned with identifying weaknesses in the City of Ottawa’s current growth management strategy. The purpose of this research is to provide recommendations that can be used to strengthen Ottawa’s growth management policies and programs to more effectively achieve the compact urban form desired by the municipality. The findings demonstrate that there is some level of disconnect between what recent literature and key informant interviews identify as the barriers to residential intensification at the site level and the motherhood principles for compact development at the municipal level. More specifically, barriers can be summarized as community and political resistance, regulatory challenges, and policy vs. market realities. It is recommended that the City of Ottawa adopt a strengthened strategy that establishes achievable growth and intensification targets; encourages community support for compact development; considers growth over the longer term and with a regional perspective; and is advocated by strong leaders. Only in this way can the City create an improved strategy that will, like earlier plans, make Ottawa once again a proud leader in urban planning efforts in Canada.